Sci-fi is one of my pet genres that doesn’t get stroked nearly as much as I’d like because I get seduced by tairens, dragons, fairies, and other fantasy characters much more often. I’m glad that didn’t happen this time because I would have missed out on a five-star book.

I found The Consortium Rebellion series through an annual literacy fundraiser called Buns & Roses. Each table is hosted by an author, whom we get to have tea and chat with. This is my second year attending.

When the list of authors hits my inbox I read their bios and look at their book offerings. You know I was thrilled to see sci-fi on the list, from a new-to-me author, and that the book had good ratings on Amazon and members of one of my Goodreads book clubs recommended it.

I dove in.

Polaris Rising started as a book I read for Buns & Roses and turned into so much more when it delivered excellent world building that hasn’t been done to where you wonder if you’ve already read the book and interesting characters who captured my attention.

Space travel is common in Polaris Rising and humans dominate the universe. The main character, Ada, is a daughter of a ruling family in the consortium, who flees an arranged marriage and has to stay ahead of everyone trying to drag her back to her father and the man she gave up her position and security to avoid. She’s empowered, smart, and sassy. Totally fun to read. Her knowledge of spaceships is impressive and was a major reason I was invested in the story.

Plus, there’s a romance! Marcus Loch is one of those rough-around-the-edges heroes you want to tame, but not all the way.

Mihalik gave me a slow-burn romance that I loved and which enhanced the rest of the story. There are sexy times, in good proportion to what the main characters are going through.

The book is excellent, even if there are some questions I didn’t feel were answered. I can’t go into them without spoilers, but I can say that having those questions unanswered didn’t take me out of the story or lower my rating.

Meeting Mihalik was a big highlight at Buns & Roses. She was as much fun to hang out with as she was to read.

Buy links and more can be found on Jessie Mihalik’s website.

What about you? Are you into sci-fi with a perfect amount of romance?

Thanks for reading,

Gina

*This review is not sponsored in any way.